RePL cheat sheet

Minimum age for a RePL is 16 years; applicants must also satisfy English language and aeronautical knowledge requirements.

CASR Part 101 and its Manual of Standards contain the operating rules for RPA; CASA is the regulator and the ATSB investigates occurrences.

A remote pilot licence (RePL) is held by the individual; a remotely piloted aircraft operator's certificate (ReOC) is held by the organisation flying for hire or reward.

The excluded category covers RPA under 2 kg flown within the standard operating conditions and requires no ReOC.

RPA of 250 g or more must be registered with CASA; excluded-category operators also require operator accreditation.

RePL ratings are issued by aircraft type and weight (for example multirotor up to 7 kg), with endorsements such as sub-2 kg, night, BVLOS and heavier weight classes.

An Aeronautical Radio Operator Certificate (AROC) is required before using aviation VHF radio frequencies.

Reportable matters include serious injury, significant damage, loss of control and near collisions with manned aircraft.

Maintain visual line of sight with the RPA at all times, unaided except for corrective spectacle or contact lenses.

Do not fly higher than 120 m (400 ft) above ground level under the standard operating conditions.

Keep at least 30 m horizontally from any person not associated with the operation.

Do not operate in controlled airspace or within 5.5 km (3 NM) of a controlled aerodrome without approval.

Do not operate over populous areas, crowded beaches, public events or areas affecting public safety without approval.

Day VFR only under standard conditions; night operations need a night endorsement and serviceable lighting.

Give way to all manned aircraft and never operate in a way that creates a collision hazard.

No dropping or discharging of objects, no operation from a moving vehicle, one RPA at a time, and never inside prohibited or restricted areas.

Lift = 0.5 x air density x velocity squared x wing area x lift coefficient; thrust must exceed drag for level or climbing flight.

Induced drag decreases and parasite drag increases with airspeed; maximum range and best glide occur at maximum lift-to-drag ratio.

Density altitude rises with temperature, elevation and humidity, reducing lift, propeller thrust, climb rate, payload and endurance.

Forward flight in a multirotor requires tilting the thrust vector; maximum speed is limited by tilt angle and airframe drag.

A centre of gravity displaced from the thrust centre increases motor load, reduces stability and shortens endurance.

A headwind reduces ground speed and hence range for a given endurance; a tailwind increases range but not airspeed.

Battery voltage sags under load and in cold temperatures, reducing the maximum power and climb rate available.

Propeller thrust varies roughly with the square of RPM, so small throttle increases cause large power draw increases.

ISA sea level values are 15 degrees Celsius and 1013.25 hPa; temperature lapses about 1.98 degrees Celsius per 1000 ft and pressure about 1 hPa per 30 ft.

Cloud base in feet AGL is approximately (temperature minus dew point in degrees Celsius) x 400.

With QNH set the altimeter reads elevation above mean sea level; QFE reads height above the reference point; 1013.25 hPa is used for flight levels.

In the Southern Hemisphere, surface friction causes the wind to veer (turn clockwise) and increase in speed with height.

A sea breeze is a daytime onshore wind caused by land heating faster than the sea; it can reach 15 to 20 knots and carries drift and endurance penalties.

Anabatic (upslope) winds occur on heated slopes by day; katabatic (downslope) drainage winds occur in valleys at night.

Thunderstorm stages are cumulus, mature and dissipating; hazards include downbursts, gust fronts, hail and lightning.

Radiation fog requires clear skies, light wind and high humidity, typically forming overnight and clearing after sunrise.

METAR is a routine observation, SPECI a special observation and TAF an aerodrome forecast.

One minute of latitude equals 1 NM (1852 m) anywhere; one minute of longitude equals 1 NM only at the equator and shrinks with the cosine of latitude.

Magnetic bearing = true bearing minus easterly variation (add westerly variation); remember 'variation east, magnetic least'.

Airspace classes run A to G; Class G is uncontrolled, while Class C and above require an ATC clearance.

A control zone (CTR) surrounds a controlled aerodrome from the surface upward; a control area (CTA) is the surrounding shelf airspace.

Prohibited, Restricted and Danger (PRD) areas and current NOTAMs must be checked before every flight.

VTC (1:250,000) is used for terminal areas, VNC for visual navigation and ERC for enroute; AIP and ERSA give procedures and frequencies.

Time: AEST = UTC+10, ACST = UTC+9:30, AWST = UTC+8; add one hour where daylight saving applies.

GPS needs at least four satellites for a 3D fix and provides own position only, not traffic separation.

SHELL model: Liveware (the human) interacts with Software, Hardware, Environment and other Liveware; most errors occur at these interfaces.

IMSAFE covers Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue and Emotion or Eating.

Fatigue slows reaction time and degrades vigilance, memory and judgement, and accumulates across a duty period.

Complacency and plan continuation bias raise risk most in routine, repetitive operations.

Situational awareness has three levels: perception, comprehension and projection; failure at any level leads to poor decisions.

Threat and Error Management means anticipating threats, trapping errors early and managing the resulting undesired state.

A reporting and just culture encourages hazard reporting without fear of punishment for honest error.

Visual lookout is degraded by empty-field myopia and expectation bias; a systematic scan pattern is more reliable than staring.

Phonetic alphabet: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett and so on, used to spell out registration letters.

MAYDAY repeated three times signals distress (grave and imminent danger); PAN-PAN repeated three times signals urgency.

Transponder codes: 7700 general emergency, 7600 radio failure, 7500 unlawful interference.

121.5 MHz is the international emergency frequency; CTAF broadcasts go on the published aerodrome frequency.

Read back clearances, runway assignments, altitudes, headings and altimeter settings.

'Roger' means received and understood; 'wilco' means will comply; 'affirm' and 'negative' answer questions.

Callsigns use the aircraft type plus the last four characters of the registration.

Transmit only while the button is held, and use standard phraseology to avoid blocking or misread transmissions.

Pre-flight planning: METAR and TAF, NOTAM, airspace and PRD checks, site survey, battery state, firmware version and RTH settings.

Set return-to-home altitude above all local obstacles while remaining below 120 m AGL.

Plan a battery reserve of about 20 to 30 percent, and allow for cold temperatures and wind increasing consumption.

Brief the crew before launch: operating area, exclusion zone, observer positions, launch and recovery points and emergency actions.

Lost link: the aircraft should hover, land or return home automatically; monitor telemetry and be ready to take control when the link returns.

Loss of visual contact: stop and hover if possible, use telemetry and map position, and never fly blindly toward a guessed location.

Fly-away: record last known position and time, notify CASA or the ATSB if injury or damage occurs, and do not pursue it by road.

Emergency priority order is people, then property, then the aircraft; choose a clear landing area away from bystanders.

LiPo safety: store at about 3.8 V per cell, never charge unattended or damaged packs, and use a fire-resistant container.